Understanding how organisms develop, differentiate, and maintain homeostasis in health and disease remains one of the aforemost problems in biology. Recent appreciation that programmed cell death (apoptosis) plays a major role in these processes has stimulated great interest in elucidating the mechanisms that control programmed cell death. Despite major new research initiatives pertaining to apoptosis,key questions remain unanswered. These include: l)What signals activate and/or suppress the apoptotic phenotype? 2) How do second messengers and ion fluxes selectively activate the apoptotic program? 3) How do apoptotic and anti- apoptotic genes interact? 4) What role does apoptosis have in the development of cancer, AIDS, and aging. The goal of this meeting is to bring together for the first time the leading authorities in the world to discuss and debate new data and concepts on apoptosis. The meeting will highlight studies on programmed cell death in diverse model systems ranging from nematodes to man. This unique comparative approach will lead to a better understanding of apoptosis. Other speakers will focus on newly discovered apoptosis and anti-apoptosis genes which integrate to control life and death. Finally, other participants will examine potential therapeutic roles of targeting apoptosis in Cancer, AIDS and Aging. This meeting will be the most comprehensive analysis of programmed cell death yet to be organized.